During the preparations for the World Cup, British mass media regularly published negative articles about Russia

VOLGOGRAD, April 8. /TASS/. Negative things about Russia in British mass media outlets will disappear when the first ball is kicked during the 2018 World Cup, former England defender Sol Campbell said in an interview with TASS.

During the preparations for the World Cup, British mass media regularly published negative articles about Russia with the calls to move the tournament to another country or boycott it.

"Every World Cup has a lot of negative things around before the tournament, it's normal. But when the first ball is kicked, everybody is concentrated at football," Campbell said.

"The main thing is that everybody behind the scene is making sure that everything is looked after - safety, transport, accommodation. World Cup is the biggest show, biggest sporting event in the world. And I'm sure that Russia is doing everything in their power," said Campbell, who took part in three World Cups.

Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.

The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital.